A spin-off of "Spider-Man", "Venom", will be developed by Sony Pictures, which has tapped "Edge of Tomorrow" writer Dante Harper to write the script.
"Venom" is being envisioned as a franchise apart from and unrelated to the upcoming "Spider-Man" movie in the works with actor Tom Holland, said The Hollywood Reporter.
Venom is one of Marvel's top villains and a Spider-Man fixture since he was introduced in 1988, created by writer David Michelinie and artists Todd McFarlane and Mike Zeck.
The character is an alien symbiote that need a human host to survive. In return, the alien empowers its victim with incredible powers.
For the longest time, Venom was a villain but then morphed into an anti-hero and even (almost) good guy. In his current incarnation, Venom is paired with Flash Thompson, a Peter Parker bully-turned-close friend and now a government agent.
It is unclear which Venom incarnation is being used for the new project.
The character made its screen appearance in "Spider-Man 3" and was played by Topher Grace. A spin-off has been in development in several incarnations, with Gary Ross and Josh Trank among the director coming and going, and writers such as Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese ('Deadpool') and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci penning versions.
This Venom is meant to not only stand on its own but to also launch its own franchise.
